


The Man's the Gold for All That

by sixappleseeds



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Drabble, Gen, M/M, don't think too hard, pirate republic au, this is not designed to hold up under close inspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-11 22:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7909963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixappleseeds/pseuds/sixappleseeds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Star Wars TFA-era AU set in piracy's golden age, told in seven drabbles, need I say more</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Man's the Gold for All That

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Santheum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Santheum/gifts).



> Santheum posted [this rather breathtaking piece of art](http://santheum.tumblr.com/post/145123742090/hello-tumblr-i-have-been-very-remiss-with-sharing) (sfw) and it really got my gears turning
> 
> Title is from Robert Burns' poem, "A Man's a Man for A' That"
> 
> Allusions to Dunnett's "The Game of Kings" and Du Maurier's "Frenchman's Creek" are deliberate

“Skywalker’s back.” 

They whispered it by the docks, raised brows at one another over mugs of ale, and quietly wagered whether he would dare to meet his sister, the leader of this island’s resistance to the Crown, face to face. After all that had happened, the odds were against him. No one loved a coward, however admirable his history.

From a quiet corner of a tavern near Dakkar’s harbor, Poe Dameron listened to the whispers, followed the sliding glances, and waited. He’d wagered, too, years ago. And though some would say he’d lost, he hadn’t quit the game. Not yet.

 

.

 

“The General’s furious.” Bastian flung himself onto a bench, soaked from the day’s rain. Testor and Kun joined him within minutes, similarly dripping. From his chair by the hearth, Wexley sighed and called to the barkeep for more tea.

“You sound surprised. Were you expecting another reaction?”

“I wasn’t expecting to witness her reaction firsthand.” Bastian tugged off his cap and cloak and cast a glance about the noisy, smoke-filled room. “Where’s Dameron, anyway?”

“At dinner with Rey and Finn.” Wexley looked at Jess and Karé. “Tell me you, at least, have news worth sharing?”

Their smiles were mercenary.

 

.

 

Their instructions clear, Rey and Finn eased the rowboat back into the night. Dameron ascended the _Falcon_ ’s side, boots soft and hands grasping. If you stole back a stolen ship, was the theft still a sin? He’d ask Iolo.

It had taken some work to locate the _Falcon_ , even with Rey’s unearthly instincts, but finally she’d pointed to an overgrown inlet around the back of the island.

They’d been quiet as crocodiles. Still, as he vaulted neatly onto the quarterdeck, Dameron was unsurprised to find himself facing a dozen naked blades. 

“Well met, Captain,” someone whispered from beyond the lamplight.

 

.

 

When one finds oneself, hands bound, stripped of weapons, purse, and papers, thrust before one of the most infamous men in the Empire or without, one could be forgiven some anxiety.

Skywalker, clad in all black save for the glittering silver hook where his right hand had been, prowled across his cabin. His hair shone like a coin in the candlelight, and his eyes were as blue as the morning skies.

“Luke. You look like an ailing vicar.”

Skywalker, suddenly close, pressed the curve of his hook under Dameron’s chin. “And you, Poe Dameron, look like my prisoner.”

Poe grinned.

 

.

 

Later, as night yawned toward morning and the ship rocked gently with the outgoing tide, Skywalker stirred.

“How did you find me?” he whispered, lips against skin.

Starlight through the cabin’s windows sketched the barest of silhouettes. Poe stretched, used his own mouth to feel the pulse above Skywalker’s collarbone.

“We’ve found another like you.”

“Two, I thought. One’s stronger.”

“One’s kinder. They come as a pair.”

“I felt you arrive.”

“Is that why you had me bound?”

“You didn’t enjoy it?” Luke reached, grasped, ran a nail over Poe’s wrists. 

This time, Poe found Luke’s jaw with his teeth.

 

.

 

Later still: “You’ve not really turned pirate, have you?”

Poe smiled against Luke’s hip. “Is that what they’re saying? Do I have a bounty?”

“Only a hundred guineas.” 

“That’s perfectly respectable.”

“Leia’s is over a thousand.” 

Poe gasped a laugh, then arranged himself over Luke’s chest. “And what do they say about you?”

“They think I’m dead.”

“Convenient. Everyone here knows you’re not.”

“Imagine Whitehall’s surprise.”

Poe sat up, caught the edge of Luke’s smile in the greying light. “You mean to stay?”

Luke cupped Poe’s face. “I thought I’d ask my sister first. But yes. I’d like to stay.” 

 

.

 

If Skywalker was startled by the assembly of personages present in his sister’s sitting room, in the fortress above Dakkar’s harbor, he didn’t show it. Nor did he comment on the hour, unfashionably late for entertaining visitors, being, as he was, several years late himself.

Leia regarded them blandly: Dameron, Rey, the whole lot. “You’ve seen us,” she called. “Collect your winnings, crew.” 

“An interesting fundraising scheme,” Luke murmured. “You received my letters, then?”

“Be grateful I remembered Kenobi’s cipher, or you would’ve hung.”

“I am grateful.” 

She spread her arms wide. “Welcome home, little brother. Let’s win a war.”


End file.
